Background Story: The book of Hebrews provides a connection between the Old Testament and the New showing how God fulfilled the law through Jesus.

Hebrews 9:1-15

That first covenant between God and Israel had regulations for worship and a place of worship here on earth. ² There were two rooms in that Tabernacle. In the first room were a lampstand, a table, and sacred loaves of bread on the table. This room was called the Holy Place. ³ Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second room called the Most Holy Place. ⁴ In that room were a gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing manna, Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant. ⁵ Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the Ark’s cover, the place of atonement. But we cannot explain these things in detail now.

⁶ When these things were all in place, the priests regularly entered the first room as they performed their religious duties. ⁷ But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. ⁸ By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle and the system it represented were still in use.

⁹ This is an illustration pointing to the present time. For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them. ¹⁰ For that old system deals only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies—physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established.

¹¹ So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. ¹² With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.

Big Idea: Jesus is our perfect High Priest.

In the United States, there are laws set out by the federal government that everyone is expected to follow. Pretty much, if you live here, you follow the laws or face the consequence. And when you break a law, you go into a court room with an attorney who stands with you to present your case in front of the judge. This judge has been given authority by the government to decide your punishment.

In Exodus 20, God presented the Israelites with the Ten Commandments, the laws that God had set forth. Jesus said in Matthew 5:21-48 that we could break the laws of God, not just with our actions, but in our thoughts and heart. That means that the first time we chose to lie, cheat, lust, hate… we became a law breaker. And Romans 6:23 says that the consequence is death.

But God in His mercy did not leave us alone to face the consequence! He sent Jesus to take our place and be our perfect sacrifice and our perfect High Priest. Like an attorney, the High Priest of the Old Testament was the one who went to God on behalf of the people offering sacrifices to God for their sin. But because the Old Testament High Priests were law breaker themselves, they had to purify themselves first before entering the Holy of Holies to offer sacrifices for the people (Leviticus 8-9). But Jesus came as the perfect High Priest, without sin and “with his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.”

Because Jesus is our perfect High Priest, we do not have to return year after year offering temporary sacrifices for our sin. We can come today, confess our sin and need for a Savior, and receive complete forgiveness. Praise be to Jesus, our Perfect High Priest!

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